Data Protection Policy

Merton Historical Society Data Protection and Privacy Statement

Merton Historical Society (MHS) is a non-profit recreational organisation that only retains personal data for membership reasons and so is exempt from registration with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Act.

Our website is at  www.mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk
Our e-mail address is  mhs@mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk

Personal Data

Personal data, limited to name, address and other identifiers, will only be retained and processed electronically or in paper format for the purposes of: establishing or maintaining membership of MHS; and for providing information to Officers of the Society who have need for access by reason of their position in MHS.

MHS will not disclose your personal data to a third party without your specific consent unless there is a statutory obligation to do so.  MHS undertakes not to sell, give or exchange our membership list with any other organisation. Should a third party wish to contact you by telephone, post or email, MHS will pass details of the third party to you, so that you may then respond or decline to do so.

Your personal data will be deleted (if held digitally) or destroyed (if held physically) twelve months after you cease to be a member of Merton Historical Society

Access to personal information
You can find out if MHS holds any of your personal data by making a ‘subject access request’ under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 2016/679). If we do hold information about you we will:
–  give you a description of it;
–  tell you why we are holding it;
–  tell you who it could be disclosed to; and
–  let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.
You have the right to correct your personal data that we hold.

Data Security
Only Officers of the Society who have need for access by reason of their position in MHS will have access to personal data. Your personal information, including email address, will be kept on a computer with up-to-date virus protection, firewall software and spyware. A back-up copy will be kept on an encrypted removable hardware device. Paper copies may be made, but will be kept securely by those officers of MHS who need to use such copies and disposed of securely when no longer required for use.

The contact information of non-members who make historical or other enquiries addressed to MHS is stored securely and is deleted at the completion of the enquiry or after one year, whichever is the longer period.

Website
MHS does not collect information about individual visitors to our website.  However, this privacy notice does not cover the links within this site linking to other websites, whose own privacy statements you should read.

Information that may be supplied to members
Members may receive information from MHS via post or electronic mail, such as the MHS Bulletin, reminders of meetings and visits, reminders of membership renewal and notification of new publications.
All electronic mail information will be sent on a ‘blind carbon copy’ (bcc) basis so that your e-mail address will not be circulated to all addressees.
If you wish us to stop sending you this information, you should send an opt-out request to mhs@mertonhistoricalsociety.org.uk. MHS will acknowledge receipt of this email.

In addition you may specifically request to be on an electronic mail circulation list to receive information from MHS regarding activities of organisations with interests similar to our own, such as the Surrey History Centre and other local historical societies. This too would be sent on a ‘blind carbon copy’ (bcc) basis.
MHS will not give members’ e-mail addresses to any other society or organisation.
You may rescind this request at any time by informing MHS by e-mail.